Method of and apparatus for feeding stock to blast-furnaces



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J. R BEN NETT. METEOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STOCK T0 BLAST FURNAOES.

No. 503,206. Patented Aug. 5, 1884 mew-WY u PETERS. rmwuahu nimr. wamin m. 0.:

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' J. P. BBNNETT. METHOD 0i AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STOOKTO BLAST FURNACES. No. 303,206; Patented Aug. 5, 1884.

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JOHN F. BENNETT, on ri'rrssnnc, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDlNG STOCK T0 BLAST-FURNACES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 303,206, dated August 5, 1884.

Application filed September 2.4, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that 1, JOHN FRANCIS'BEN- NETT, of Pittsburg, in the chunty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Method of and Apparatus for Feeding Stock to Blast-Furnaces; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to, the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification. 7

My invention relates to apparatus for feed- 7 ing stock to furnaces; and the objects of my improvements are, first, to warm the stock by the waste slag-heat economically; and, second, to accomplish .this end with simplicity of plant. I attain these objects by the method ,hereinafter described, and the means illusthe hot fire-brick ovens E E E, where the air is heated. Thence the air is conducted by pipes E E E-F F into the blast-furnace G.

His a tilting platform, by which the fuel, conveyed in wagons 0 from the source, through hood M on the elevated track J and inclined track 1?, is fed to the top of the furnace G.

I is a groiind track, on which wagons N, containing slag from the furnace G, are conveyed to the hood M, where the heat'voluntarily emitted therefrom is utilized in heating the fuel and expelling moisture therefrom.

K is the chimney, by which the products of combustion incapable of further utilization are discharged. l

L is any suitable traction-engine, serving as a motor for the wagons N. O. It has connection with both sets of wagons, drawing wagons full of fuel up the incline and wagons full of 50 slag into the hood.

cure all the heat.

M is an arched hoodhaving doors at either end, which preferably open and close automatically. One track, I, is laid upon the floor for the slag-wagons N, and one elevated track, J, is provided, so that the wagons 0 shall I be as near the top of the hood as possible, to se- The slag-wagons are preferably made low, with wide boxes, holding the slag to a depth, approximately, of six inches, whereby the desirable extent of surface is exposed to the atmosphere and the slag readily and consequently a greater yield of metal,

other conditions being equal.

Among the advantages incident to previ onsly heating the furnacestock are that when operating with excessively-watered coke or wet ores'and fluxes all but the hygroscopic water is expelled: WVith anthracite coal, not only is all but the hygroscopic moisture expelled, but also any carbo-hydrogen present,

the expulsion of which in the furnace is a 7 source of considerable loss of heat, and the coal is so gradually heated that when fed to the furnace it neither decrepitates nor packs. With block-coalssuch as those of Ohio and Indiana-the carbo-hydrogen gases are expelled, and hence their efficiency in the furnace to that degree enhanced, while the gases evolved, averaging twelve per cent, may be collected in the hood, and thence readily conducted to asuitable gasholder. The last case. cited necessitates the use of double doors or 5 other means of rendering the hood nearly airtight.

It is'apparent that other means than hot slag might be utilized to heat the stock; but I am not aware of any more economical.

I-Ieretofo're the waste slag-heat has been utilized in the volatilizatiouof deleterious gases and in the warming of the stock prepar- Having thus fully described my invention, v what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In feeding blast and other furnaces during the smelting operation, theprocess herein described of heating the ore, fluxes, and coal preparatory to charging the furnace, which consists in placing the charge in a closed chaiiiber containing the hot slag from the furnace, thereby heating the charge by means of 20 the hot slag.

2. The combination of a blast-furnace with a chamber or hood capable of hermetic closure, having two tracks thereinone above the other-and means for running the cars of slag 25 and those containing ore and fuel to and from said chamber and furnace.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. l

J OHN F. BENNETT. \Vitnesses:

M. E. IIARRISON, ALEX. RANDOL. 

